India’s benchmark equity index closed in the green after swinging between gains and losses as the first phase of voting for national elections began yesterday.
Investors were cautious and await company earnings to provide further direction to the market.
The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.1% to 38,607.01 in Mumbai, after dropping as much as 0.3% earlier in the session.
The NSE Nifty 50 Index also added 0.1%. Roughly 900mn registered voters will begin heading to the polls this week as India begins a marathon, six-week long general election.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking re-election – five years after his Bharatiya Janata Party won a clear mandate in 2014.
Asia’s top software exporters Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Infosys Ltd will announce their January-March earnings today.
“The recent rally in the market has factored in most positives,” said Sunil Sharma, the chief investment officer at Mumbai-based Sanctum Wealth Management Pvt Ltd. “A positive outcome in elections and company earnings are the next triggers for equities.”
“We expect financials, especially corporate banks to report good numbers. Companies in the small-ticket consumption space will do well. The slowdown seen in the sector, especially for large ticket consumption, should go away post elections,” he said.
The Numbers Twelve of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd advanced led by a gauge of energy companies Reliance Industries contributed the most to the index advance, increasing 1.2%; Bharti Airtel had the largest gain, rising 1.9% Infosys was the biggest drag on the index, declining 1.3%.
Vedanta had the biggest drop, falling 3.9% Wockhardt Ltd rose 1% after US FDA approved cancer drug.
Traders at the Bombay Stock Exchange. India’s benchmark equity index closed in the green after swinging between gains and losses as the first phase of voting for national elections began yesterday.
